He broke the machine!
***
Now, three months later, he sat crying, unable to control himself. In six hours he would be revealed as a hack.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. He would have let down a lot of people.
He wiped his eyes. The only thing he wanted right now was to go back to being a courier. Things were simpler then. He was free. All this money and fame had brought him nothing but misery. He was confined to an image that was not real.
He was not a writer.
He was not the author of two mega-selling novels.
He was just a guy who got lucky.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes.
He would have to face the music. He would have to call his editor and tell him the truth. Well, not the entire truth, as no one would believe the part about the machine. But he would have to say he was done as a novelist.
In six hours he would make the call.
Suddenly he stopped and a smile crossed his face.
If his career was going to end, then why not end it the right way, he thought.
He began to type feverishly. By the time he made the call to his editor, he had a completed manuscript in his hand.
***
The book came out again to rave reviews. It sold millions upon millions of copies. It was a fictional story of a young man who discovered a machine that would enable him to create brilliant works of literature. Reviewers, critics, and readers considered it a spoof of the great Sebastian Tomplay.
Here was a man who had achieved so much, but who was willing to mock himself.
Sebastian didn’t think it that way. This was the truth whether they knew it or not.
The publishing world never heard from Sebastian Tomplay again, and this was fine by him.
He sold his expensive condo, put his money into a savings account, and went back to being a courier.
On the side of his bike he taped up the words: When fiction becomes reality, that’s when things begin to get scary.
Read MISH-MASH FICTION and other stories in the collection:
TEN TYPEWRITER TALES
MOBASHAR QURESHI was named one of the ten rising Canadian mystery writers to watch by Quill & Quire Magazine. He is the author of RACE, THE OCTOBER FIVE, and THE PAPERBOYS CLUB.
Visit the author’s website:
www.mobasharqureshi.com
Visit the author’s blog
Mobashar’s Musings
Mish-Mash Fiction Page 2